Why PC Gaming is More Popular Than Ever

When it comes to video games, the major consoles soak up most of the attention. Every move companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Sony (NYSE:SNE), and Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) make with their game systems is scrutinized. The thing is, many of the popular games that come out for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U are also available for the computers sitting on our desks. Many titles, like The Sims, Minecraft, and Diablo 3, were released for computers before being ported to consoles. And then there are enormously popular games like World of Warcraft and EVE Online that are available on no platform but computers. And if recent data is any indication, it appears that gaming on computers is hotter now than ever before.

That’s according to Valve, the company behind Steam, a video game distribution platform for computers running Windows, Mac, or Linux. Steam, which is generally considered the premier place to buy and play computer games online, recently set a new record for most users signed in at the same time. How many people are we talking about? Over 8 million. A grand total of 8,020,813, to be exact.

And that concurrent user record is just the latest one set for Steam. The service first hit the 6 million mark in 2012, then reached 7 million in December 2013, followed quickly by 7.5 near Christmas. Looking at the numbers over time, the trend is definitely upward.

One reason all those people flocked to the Steam marketplace at the same time over the weekend was due to the Steam annual summer sale, which ran last week. During Steam sales, customers can buy all kinds of wildly popular games at deep discounts. Some brand new games only a month old are offered at half price, while blockbuster games from a year or two ago can be found for as little as $5 or $10. Indie hits are often discounted to just a buck or two.